This conference grant application is for partial support to a scientific symposium designed to address issues related to epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of heritable mechano-bullous disorders characterized by extreme fragility of the skin and mucous membranes. This one-and-a-half day meeting will consist of formal lectures delivered by experts in various fields of basement membrane zone biology, and of informal exchange of ideas from various viewpoints towards integrating such knowledge to EB. The program is designed to be interdisciplinary, yet focused on problems relating to EB, in a manner allowing us to explore the biology and molecular pathology of the basement membrane zone and define the underlying molecular defects in more precise biochemical and biological terms than before. We believe that the meeting is extremely timely, and the topic is of utmost importance, as congress of the United States has indicated that interdisciplinary approaches to study epidermolysis bullosa should be given a high priority. The basement membrane zone research utilizing different approaches has reached a stage from which we can synthesize further interdisciplinary programs aimed at better understanding of the molecular defects in EB, and eventually at prevention and treatment of this devastating disease. I believe that the planned symposium will be beneficial in defining the problems in EB, and will further enhance our understanding of the basement zone biology in general.